FIFTH ENGULFS SUHUM GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL (PAGE 22)

A huge pile of refuse close to the entrance of the Suhum Government Hospital is posing a serious health risk to staff and patients, as well as residents in the locality.
The refuse dump, which has been in the area for years, is an eyesore to those who visit the hospital. Also, a terrible stench emanates from the refuse dump and engulfs the entire compound and the various wards, particularly the Maternal and Children’s wards.
Besides the health hazards, smoke also often emanates from the rubbish dump when it is being burnt, and this pollutes the atmosphere, causing respiratory problems to the staff and the patients.
The Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Divine Apaloo, who voiced grave concerns, told the Daily Graphic that the dump further provided an environment for hordes of vultures and other harmful creatures that mostly hover over the hospital.
“It is always common to find countless vultures, flies, mosquitoes, as well as snakes, in and around the hospital, particularly during the rainy season due to the mere presence of the rubbish Dr Apaloo said.
He mentioned some of the health risks as frequent outbreak of cholera, malaria and typhoid fevers, as well as respiratory problems, among some of the workers and patients of the hospital.
According to him, the staff of the hospital and patients in the out-patients department (OPD) were often compelled to leave their offices and the premises of the OPD, a situation that constituted a hindrance to smooth health care in the hospital.
Dr Apaloo said although the management of the facility had on many occasions drawn the attention of both the district and regional branches of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the district assembly to all this, “our efforts have all fallen on deaf ears.”
He therefore appealed to the incoming Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District Assembly administration as well as the district and regional offices of the EPA, to help relocate the refuse dump.
This, he contended, would enable the hospital to render quality health care to the residents of the area and its environs.
For his part, the Administrator of the hospital, Mr Daniel K. Yeboah, expressed worry over the way in which the refuse dump and its environs became waterlogged during the rainy season, noting that such a situation often resulted in effluents from the dump seeping into River Suhum located a few metres away.
According to him, the river, which stretches beyond Suhum, has over the years remained the main source of drinking water for most surrounding communities, such as Wodokum, Abenabo, Asuboi and Kwasi Kpongo.
“The ability of the assembly and other relevant bodies to relocate the rubbish will not only serve the interests of the hospital but also those of communities that depend on River Suhum as their source of drinking water he stated.